Unique Creatures, Complex and Wondrous - 3 of 3

For your consideration...the following is an excerpt from a radio spot on KAPL radio, Jacksonville, Oregon, called " Akin For the Truth". To listen to the entire spot (a few minutes long), click the little microphone icon....Jack

Last time we were looking at that amazing chemist, the Bombardier Beetle, who, though having a brain capacity smaller than the head of a pin, is able to safety mix caustic chemicals and deliver them to its attacker as a pressurized, boiling hot spray.

Another one I like is the woodpecker. The woodpecker has a specialized tongue in a tough beak with a sharp point; a shock absorbing tissue behind the bill; a tough, double reinforced skull; a stiff tail for bracing itself; strong leg muscles to hold on; and special four-clawed feet to give added support. The woodpecker can hammer at a tree with a force of over 1000 Gs; 300 times greater than the effect that pushes our astronauts on lift off. Each strike of the beak must be straight on or else the shear force could break the beak or smash its brain. As the beak strikes, the bird's eyelids close to prevent them from popping out.